Grayson's Vow (50)
Charlotte stopped what she was doing, her eyes twinkling as she set her rolling pin aside. “And you?” she asked.
“I…” I tilted my head. “I’m attracted to him too. I…” I circled one finger around the rim of my coffee mug. “Well, there are moments when I even like him, believe it or not.” I shook my head. “But I can’t give him what he wants for several reasons.” I glanced at Kimberly, and she gave me a sympathetic look. “But the main reason is that he would probably have no problem sharing his body with me and then going on as if nothing had happened. But I wouldn’t be able to.” It had always been the way with me—where my body went, my heart tended to follow. I didn’t necessarily like it, but it was true and to lie to myself would be a personal disservice. Grayson Hawthorn could so easily destroy me if I gave him the opportunity. I’d learned that lesson once, and I didn’t care to repeat it. This time, I would not give in to my stupid, reckless whims.
Especially not when it came to a highly virile dragon.
Charlotte patted my hand that was lying on the counter, leaving a small smudge of flour on my knuckle. “That’s how us women are built, my dear. When we give our bodies, we give our hearts. When men give their bodies, well…” She looked up as if trying to come up with the right words.
“They give their bodies,” both Kimberly and I finished in unison, and then the three of us dissolved into laughter. My heart soared with affection for both of them. I had missed having girlfriends around.
“Yes. So that’s off the table,” I said.
“Well, we’ll see,” Charlotte replied.
“No evil plotting,” I warned. Secretly, though, my heart was warmed to know Charlotte wanted to see a true relationship between Grayson and me. Perhaps, for her, it was mostly because she didn’t believe in the fake marriage we’d arranged—making it real would allow her to be happy for Grayson, rather than disappointed for him.
“Oh, no,” Charlotte said unconvincingly. “At least not so I get caught.”
I laughed softly and took a sip of my coffee. I was tempted to ask Charlotte about some of the things I’d learned about Grayson the other night, especially regarding Vanessa. But one, I didn’t feel exactly right talking about those things behind his back, and two, Kimberly was there.
“Will he forgive you?” I asked Charlotte.
“Oh, eventually. This right here,” she said, nodding to the dough in her hand, “is for his favorite blueberry scones. He likes them with jam and cream. He’ll act angry for a couple days just to preserve his pride, but after a few of these, he really won’t be.” She held up a finger. “Oh, that reminds me, Kira. I’ll need to go to the south field to collect the apricots so ripe they’re falling on the ground. Do you want to help me make a couple batches of my apricot jam?”
“Sure. I made strawberry preserves with my grandmother once,” I said, thinking back fondly to that day.
“I love this place,” Kimberly said again. “I think you belong here, Kira.”
Her words alternately brought me happiness and dread because I was beginning to love a lot of things about this place too.
And as we sat in the warm kitchen, fragrant with the smells of blueberries and coffee, eating oatmeal honey muffins, Charlotte prattling on about her weekend trip, it suddenly hit me: Grayson had said that, for all intents and purposes, he’d grown up with no parents at all. I still didn’t understand the exact dynamics of that situation. But he’d been wrong on one account. He’d had parents all along. Their names were Walter and Charlotte Popplewell, and they loved him as if he were their own. I wondered if Grayson even realized it.
After a little while, Kimberly told me she had to get going. I walked her outside, and as we stood at her car, she smiled. “This has been such a nice visit. I meant what I said.” She looked around at the Hawthorn property. “It feels like you fit here.” She studied my face for a second. “But take care of yourself. I couldn’t bear to see you hurt again, Kira Kat.”
I gave her a brief smile. “I will, I promise.”
She looked away for a moment. “I almost hate to tell you this, after seeing how well you’re doing here—”
My heart sank. “My dad’s been calling you, hasn’t he?” I asked, guessing immediately. She always got the same tight look on her face whenever my dad came to her mind.
“He’s called several times, even hinting once that if I didn’t get you to call him, he’d pull some strings at Andy’s job somehow—and I don’t think he means to get him a promotion.”
“That controlling bastard.” I seethed. Kim’s husband, Andy, was a police dispatcher, and I supposed it wasn’t out of the scope of the impossible that my father had some pull at the San Francisco Police Department, but for my father to even consider that? Was there no limit to the depths he would sink to control me?
Kimberly put a comforting hand on my arm. “Now listen. I didn’t tell you that so you’d contact him on our account. Andy is a little bit worried, but frankly, we’d rather collect unemployment than let your father influence our lives. I just thought you should be aware. Who knows what else he’s up to. It might be best for you to go to him now, so he doesn’t figure out where you are before you’re ready and show up here.”